Road to the X Games
by Green Gallant
Summary: Seuqel to X High School. After graduating high school, motocross rider Richard Grayson is invited by ESPN to compete in X Games XIII. But they soon discover getting there is half the fun, and have a road trip to remember. First stop Vegas. Rob/Star, BB/T.
1. The Invitation

_Author's Note: This was originally going to be part of X High School, but do to certain circumstances I've decided to make this as an inbetween sequel between X High and the upcoming University of X fic which will make the series a trilogy. And details his journey into the Summer X Games in Los Angeles. I figured this would probably be the best way to do a story arc I've wanted to do from the begining. I hope you guys like it. Just sets up the basic storyline. _

**The Road to the X Games**

**Chapter 1**

**The Invitation**

A week after graduation the gang held a pool party at Tara's house with recent graduates Kori, Rich and Slade. The gang was all hanging out in the pool except for one, Richard was nowhere to be seen. But all that was about to change, earlier in the day Richard found a package in his mailbox when he saw what was inside he couldnt believe his eyes. Rich jumped in his Vette and headed toward the house. On the way over he phoned the guys telling them that he had great news. A while later he came through the house to Tara's pool with the package in hand.

"Guys your not going to believe what came in the mail!" he said.

"College application?" asked Vic.

"No better than that, 1000 times better than that!" he said sliding his hand inside the package and pulled out a DVD.

"An invitation to the X Games." he said.

"They want you to play?" Kori asked excitedly.

"Yeah."

Kori screamed got out of the pool and hugged him soaking wet in a purple string bikini.

"That's great man!" Vic yelled.

"Way to go bro!" said Slade.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Gar.

"That's insane!" Tara said excitedly.

Kori kissed his cheek as Tara came up out of the pool and hugged him as well.

"Congradulations." she said.

"Yeah thanks Tara. Come on, let's check it out!" he said heading inside.

"Wait up! I have to dry off first!" Tara said grabbing a towel.

Kori did the same and wrapped it around thier bodies the guys dried off too as they went inside. Once inside the guys plopped down on the couch in thier towels while Richard popped in the dvd and grabbed the remote. The ESPN logo appeared on screen as he hit play.

"Hello Richard, I'm George Bodenheimer president of ESPN. For a while some of our scouts have been watching your races as well as those employed by the AMA. I have to say I am very impressed by your skills. After consulting several people within the organization I would like to invite you to compete in this summer's X Games XIII."

The gang smiled and looked at each other as the president continued.

"The X Games Council is waiting for your reply. To register go to the X Games website at or , keyword: X Games. We look forward to hearing from you Richard and would love to see you compete. As you know the X Games features both motocross and Supercross events and hope to see you go far this summer. Please reply soon so we can reserve a spot for you on Team USA. We look forward to hearing from you. Good luck."

A moment later a more familar face came on screen.

"Hey Richard, this is 6 time World Champion Travis Pastrana here to congradulate you on your invitation to the X Games. I look forward to meeting you on the track, should be a blast racing with you. I've heard your really good. Hope to see you at this summer's X Games." Travis said.

"Hey this is Tony Hawk, hope to see you at the X Games this summer really looking forward to meeting you and seeing you in action." he said.

"Hey this is Bucky Lasik, looking forward to seeing you here in LA at X Games 13." he said.

Several other athletes appeared on screen and congradulated Richard when Vic asked him.

"So what's it going to be?"

He smirked at him.

"You have to ask? Tara can I borrow your computer?"

"Sure, its upstairs in my bedroom." she said.

"Thanks." he said getting up off the couch.

"Can you believe it?" Gar asked.

"I know." Kori replied.

"He always said he was going to be in the X Games someday." Vic replied.

"Looks like he finally gets to live his dream." Raven added.

"I wonder if we get to go too?" asked Slade.

"I'm sure he'll take us along." she assured him.

Upstairs Richard was already on line signing the registration form at . He filled it out and hit send, the confirmation came in saying that it was sent.

"Yeah!" he said softly. He closed out the program and went downstairs.

"Guys, we're going to the X Games!" he said on the stairway.

"Yeah!" yelled Gar.

"All right!" yelled Vic and Slade.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your computer." he said as she enveloped him in a hug.

"Sure no problem. Congradulations Richard." she told him.

"Yeah thanks, it's going to be great." he said.

"So how does it feel knowing your going to be in the X Games?" asked Vic.

"It feels great, I think I may need to sit down." he said collapsing on the couch.

"Oh, I cant even begin to imagine it." he said overcome with awe.

"Well you got a few weeks to worry about that." Vic said.

"It says here on the package that it's in the middle of June." Raven said.

"So that means that I have about a week to get ready...AHH! A WEEK?! What am I doing sitting around here for?! I got to get ready! I got to make sure my bike's up and running, I need to find a place to stay, I-I... there's a hundred million needs I need to do before I can even think about leaving and...Gah! Ha! Ha!"

"Richard, Richard! Calm down!" Raven told him.

"Ay-gee! Whoo! Ho! ho!" he said sitting down in the chair.

"We'll help you out anyway we can." she told him.

He leaned forward in his chair resting his elbows on his knees and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"No that's fine. My crew will handle it. Besides you guys dont know anything about maintaining a motorcycle." he said.

"Now who says that?" Vic asked.

"We took auto repair class remember?" Slade asked.

"Those were just old junkers." he told them.

"Doesnt mean your crew couldnt use some extra hands." Vic told him.

"Fine. I still need to tell Bruce though. I'll catch you guys later, I need to figure out a few things." he said getting out of his chair.

"You going to be all right?" Raven asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, it's just a lot to take in at the moment." he said heading towards the door.

The gang watched him out of concern as he made his way out.

A while later he arrived back home and told his dad the good news.

"So you got invited to the X Games, that's excellent." said Bruce.

"Yeah thanks, there's only one problem. The games start next week and I need to get everything ready." he said as they walked down the hallway together.

"I'll call the team and have them go over the bike and make sure everything's ready. Did they mention where contestants were staying at?" he asked.

"No I dont think they said anything." said Richard.

"I'll make some calls and find out. Congradulations Richard."

"Thanks Bruce."

"No problem." he smiled.

Over the next few days the team worked on the bikes making sure they were in peak condition for anything the X Games threw at them. While they were doing that Richard worked out in the gym getting his body ready for the competition, building muscle and doing chin-ups among other things. He had to make sure he was ready for anything and used his martial arts skills to stay loose. This was it, after all his years in motocross he finally made it to the big leagues. Being on the professional racing circuit was one thing, even being an 18 year old rookie in the American Motocross Association seemed like one thing. Indeed being a rookie paled in comparison to being a 250s factory rider which is basically the top market in motocross racing. But now he was going to compete in the X Games, which is on a whole another level than professional racing. This is essentially the extreme sports version of the Olympics. And he wouldnt just be representing himself or a factory racing team. He's representing his country, the United States racing team, even now he had trouble comprehending this. It was like a dream come true, hell it _is_ a dream come true! He's been wanting to do this his entire life! Ever since he was 7. And now he finally had a chance to prove himself to the world. Millions of kids, teens and twentysomethings will be watching him compete against the best in the world. This is what he's been waiting for, this is why he raced. To be the best in the world. He continued to train harder the rest of the night.

_Author's Note: All right what did you think of that? Thought I'd put a little humor in there with Rich's frantic realization of how little time he has. Like I said this is a continuation of X High School. I hope all the fans of the original series will like this one. This is dedicated to my good friend PhinalPhantasy. My Grandma has been in the hospital for a while, hope she gets better and be praying they find out what's wrong with her. And that things get better for my good friend PhinalPhantasy. _

_Please review, _

_Green Gallant_


	2. Vegas, Part 1

_Author's Note: All right here's the next chapter hope you guys like it. This is dedicated to my new friend Hidden Iris since she loves my story so much. Hope you like it "I"._

**Road to the X Games**

**Chapter 2**

**Vegas, Part 1**

The next morning Richard was dead asleep on his bed when the phone started to ring. The exhausted rider groaned and picked up his blue cell phone and flipped it open.

"Hello?" he said groggy.

"Hey Richard, this is Tony Hawk. I didnt get you up did I?" he asked.

Richard's eyes flew up and sat up in bed.

"No, no it's only...8:30?" he said looking at his clock.

"All right, why I'm calling is I was wondering if you'd like to come to Vegas with us and celebrate the newest addition to Team USA?" he asked.

"Sure, you mind if I bring some friends?" he asked.

"By all means, just dont get too carried away." he told him.

"Well how much is too much?" Rich asked.

"How many do you plan on bringing?" Tony asked.

"Just 7 of my closest friends." he told him. Tony laughed.

"Sure that works just fine." he smiled on the other end.

"Just let us know when your ready, we're heading over there this weekend. Does Saturday at 8am work for you?" he asked.

"Yeah sure, we'll be there." he said.

"Awesome, cant wait to see you. It's going to be a blast. You ever been to Vegas?" he asked.

"No I havent, and I dont think the guys have either." Rich admitted.

"Just so you know, I can pay for your friends hotel rooms." Tony offered.

"You dont have to do that." Rich told him.

"No it's cool, it's no problem for me. Just so you know some of the guys will want to iniate you." Tony told him.

"Iniate me how?" he asked.

"I cant say, just be ready for anything. Dont worry it wont be too bad. All the guys go through it, it's something we do for all the athletes." Tony told him.

"All right if you say so." Rich replied.

"Cool, see you Saturday." Tony said.

"All right." Rich said.

"Later." said Tony.

"See ya." Rich said before hanging up.

"Oh boy." he said shaking his head.

A while later Rich told them the news.

"WE'RE GOING TO VEGAS?!" yelled Gar.

"Yeah I just got off the phone with Tony Hawk this morning and he's taking us there on Saturday." Rich said.

"This Saturday?" Kori asked.

"Well all right!" yelled Vic.

"That's great bro!" said Slade.

"Yeah Tony said it's to celebrate me joining the team." he said.

"Are you sure that's a great idea?" Raven asked.

"We saved the city from evil, how much worse would a trip to Las Vegas be? Besides I travel the country doing races." answered Rich.

"Yeah but for all of us?" she asked. Rich looked at her strangely.

"You are going arent you?" he asked.

"I dont know, I'll have to ask." she said.

"I live alone so I dont have any problem going." said Vic.

"I'll probably have to ask my parents." said Gar.

"I'm sure my Dad wont mind." added Slade.

"I got to ask my parents too." said Tara.

"Guys!" Rich said.

"Sorry Rich, we cant just go off to another city like you." Kori told him.

"Get your parents together and meet me at the house." Rich told them.

A while later the 7 families met up at Wayne Manor in the Grand Hall with parents arguing at Richard about going to Las Vegas when Bruce Wayne finally came into the room waving his arms.

"Settle down everyone, now what's this all about?" the boy billionaire asked.

"Your son wants to take his friends to Vegas." answered Tara's mom.

"Just let him explain...Rich." he said sternly.

"I got invited to the X Games by the President of ESPN the other day. Now a few competetors from Team USA want to celebrate by going to Vegas and I asked if I could bring some friends along." he said.

"Are these teammates responsible adults?" asked Galfore.

"Yeah they are, most of these guys are in thier mid-20s and some of them are married. One of my teammates Tony Hawk offered to pay for our rooms." Rich told them.

"Who's Tony Hawk?" asked Galfore. Vic fell out of his recliner dumbstruck with a thud.

"He's a world champion skateboarder!" he yelled.

"He's the first guy in history to land the 900 degree spin and the second on to nail the McTwist." added Gar.

"Well whatever, I still dont see how you can make money skateboarding." Galfore replied.

The guys gave him dirty looks, which Kori returned the same look to the guys.

"So in short, everything's been taken care of. All we need is for you to say yes. How about it?" Richard asked.

"Well I trust these guys, from what I read Tony's an excellent father so I know he'll take good care of our kids." Arella said.

"Did Raven's mom just vouch for us?" whispered Gar.

"I know I'm just as suprised as you are." whispered Vic.

"Plus I'm sure most of you know about your children's superpowers so I'm confident they can take care of themselves." she added.

The parents looked at each other nervously. Galfore breathed a heavy sigh.

"Fine. Kori can go." he relented.

"Tara's in good hands." said Greg.

"Mine too." said Wintergreen.

"I guess he can go." said Mrs. Logan.

"Then it's settled. Rich, what time are they leaving?" asked Bruce.

"Saturday morning at 8." he said.

"Well, there you have it." said Bruce.

A days later it was Saturday, the guys were up early as alarm clocks went off and hurried to get dressed to meet Tony Hawk and the others at the airport. Kori got in her Midnight Blue Mustang and peeled out of the driveway, while Richard rushed to his red '89 Corvette and slid over the hood. The Titan leader got in his car and took off with wheels spinning. Vic loaded up his silver Ford F-150 and took off. Gar got into his jade green Pontiac Grand-Am and was off like a shot. Tara got into her black '99 Mustang and was off. Raven got into her blue '03 GMC Envoy and took off and Slade jumped over the hood of his black '01 Mercedes-Benz E320 sports coupe and took off like a bullet, the wheels spin as he swung around the circle drive and out onto the main road.

The cars all met up on the main highway a while later and then got on the interstate passing each other at various times as they raced towards the airport. It was 7:30 and they only had a half hour to get there and get through security. Slade and Richard led the charge in thier supercharged vehicles taking up both lanes, as the lot of them weaved in and out of traffic in a desperate attempt to get there. Richard floored it at 100mph as Slade followed suit, Kori was closely behind him at 90. Raven at 70, Tara at 75, Gar at 65 and Vic at 105 as he raced past the others on the left side.

They arrived at the airport a while later where Tony and the others were waiting.

"Hey you made it!" he smiled and high fived Richard drawing him into a hug.

"Sure wouldnt miss this for the world." he told him.

"So who are these guys?" he asked.

"Tony these are Vic, Slade, Raven, Gar, Tara and Kori." he introduced.

"Tony Hawk, oh my god it's so cool to meet you! Can I have your autograph?" Gar asked.

"Sure. Should have seen that coming." he joked.

"You got a pen?" he asked Gar.

"Yeah!" he said pulling out a pen.

Tony took the pen and paper and signed it for him.

"Anyone else need one?" he asked.

"I'll take you up on that offer." said Vic.

"Sure, I got some extra paper in my bag." Tony said retireving some.

The skater took out several scraps of paper and autographed them for everyone.

"Thanks." said Raven.

"Thank you Tony." said Kori.

A little kid came up to him and tugged on his shirt.

"Mr. Hawk, can I have an autograph?" the 6 year old boy asked.

"Sure." he smiled grabbing another sheet and autographed it for the kid.

"Who do I make this out to?" he asked.

"It's Robby." he said.

"Here you go, come on guys. Before anyone else sees me." he said picking up his back.

"Thanks Tony!" the kid yelled.

The gang quickly rushed through security and rushed through the terminal when a group of people spotted him. The plane was in the air a while later, while the guys got acquainted with the other champions.

"Guys I want you to meet Bucky Lasick." Tony said.

"Hey what's up guys?" he said slapping hands with Richard and the guys.

"What's up Bucky?" asked Gar.

"And of course you know Travis Pastrana. Motocross God Extrodanire." said Tony.

"How's it going?" he said slapping hands with Richard.

"It's cool to meet you man." he said.

"And this is Carey Hart, the man that pioneered Motocross Freestyle." Tony said.

"How's it going man?" he said slapping hands with Rich.

"Pretty good, it's hard to believe Freestyle's only been around for 5 years, it seems alot longer than that." Richard said. Carey laughed.

"I know seems like it's always been there." he replied.

"How many tattoos do you have?" Rich asked.

"I lost count. Ha ha. I've got tattoos on top my tattoos." replied Careyhis new teammate laughed back.

"You'll fit in just fine." Tony told him.

"Thanks man." he said.

They arrive at Las Vegas International Airport 2 hours later, getting off the plane they went through security and rented a limo. Driving down the strip, it didnt seem as impressive during the day as it does at night but even without the lights they couldnt help but take in the sights. As they cruised through the center of town they came across the illustrious MGM Grand Las Vegas hotel. A massive 30 story hotel, casino and entertainment center with stores and attractions that's covered in emerald green glass. And the famous Leo the Lion statue guarding the front entrance. The guys were amazed by what they saw, what was even more suprising is they were pulling into the hotel.

"Oh are you serious?!" yelled Gar who could be heard outside the limo.

"Yeah welcome to the MGM Grand Las Vegas." Tony said.

The gang checked into the hotel a while later, once they were done they were free to do whatever.

"All right let's hit the casino!" said Rich.

"Wait, what about your stuff?" Kori asked.

"Oh right. Better take care of that first." the guys got thier stuff and rushed to the elevator. After going up three floors they made it to the hotel room at the end of the hall and opened it.

Thier room was far more luxurious than they could have imagined. Green carpeting and massive queen sized beds. Gar and Slade took a look out thier window and could see the Strip.

"All right guys, we'll unpack later. Now who's ready to gamble?" Rich asked.

"Count me in." said Slade.

Rich took out his wallet. "Anyone need some cash?"

"I'm good." Slade said.

"You dont have to do that." Vic said.

"I could use some." said Gar. Vic gave him a look.

"What?" he asked.

"Your not old enough, you have to be 18 to gamble here." he said.

"Sorry Gar, its the law." Rich shrugged.

"So then why does he get to go?" asked Gar.

"Because I turn 18 in a month, there's a loophole." smiled Vic.

"No fair!! Ugh!!" he growled.

"Ha ha ha. Gotta love Vegas. Come on guys, see you later Gar." he teased.

"Humph, I'll show them." he said and followed them out.

A while later the guys hit the casino while the girls shopped. Gar stood in the lobby over looking the various casinos that lined the inside of the hotel. Richard was at one slot machine and hit the jackpot the first time. Slade was at the Blackjack table and Vic was playing Craps. Gar grumbled to himself as he watched knowing he couldnt go in. A man in an overcoat approached him.

"Cant get in?" he asked.

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" he asked.

"Its pretty easy to tell your underage." he replied.

"My friend's 17, turns 18 next month and is able to gamble becuase of a loophole." he complained.

"Well that's a crying shame, but what if I could help you get in?" he asked.

"Really how?" he asked.

"Come with me." he told him.

They walked outside where he had a van parked next to the curb and pulled out a giant Arizona ID card with a hole where the picture should be and gave it to Gar.

"Hold this up while I take a picture of you." he said.

"Ok."

He did as he was told and the man got out a camera and took a quick picture of him. After hooking it up to a printing machine and printed out a plastic ID card and gave it to Gar.

"Here you go." he said.

"Thanks man!" he said.

"That'll be five dollars." the man told him.

"Oh yeah, of course." he said handing him the money.

"Dont tell anyone about this ok?" the man asked.

"You got it." Gar said.

"Pleasure doing business with you." the man smiled.

"You too, thanks!" he said.

"No problem." he said. When Gar left the man chuckled.

"I love my job." he commented.

Gar came back into the hotel a second later and entered the casino, and showed his ID to the bouncer.

"Go on in." he said.

"Cool, thanks man." Gar said and went on in.

Gar looked around the casino there were so many games he didnt know where to start and decided to try his luck at the One Armed Bandit.

"Hey Rich." he said putting a coin in the slot machine.

"Gar what are you doing here?" he hissed.

"It's cool, I'm legal now." he told him as he pulled down on the arm and started up the game.

"How?" he asked. Gar showed him his ID card.

"Huge Roddington?" he read.

"No it says Hugh Roddington dude." his friend said. He shook his head.

"Oh Gar...what am I going to do with you?" he asked.

"Just relax dude, what's the worst that can happen?" he asked.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." he commented.

"Quit being so negative man." Gar told him.

Oh boy, looks like there's going to be some suprises in store for our friends. Think Gar will make it out of this unscathed? Find out in the next chapter.

_Author's Note: So what did you think of that? I wish there could have been more action in this chapter. But I have plenty in store for next time. Lemme know what you think. _

_Please review_

_Green Gallant_


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